Netflix’s leadership team looked shaken. The blistering 10-year growth streak that had made it a Wall Street darling came to an abrupt end in the spring of 2022 with the revelation that it was losing hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

The streaming wars were at fever pitch, with Disney+ and other services launched by the established Hollywood studios all gunning for Netflix. Speaking to stunned investors on a video call on April 19, 2022, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings began rattling off initiatives to reverse the slide.